Homequest: Decimation

The Captain told Hollam to sit, pointing to a spot on the floor. The latter did so without complaint, even though he was more than a little irritated. He had expected a grand welcome from Briar and Breeze and to have found favour in the eyes of the people from the Great Divide. But the Captain’s eyes held nothing but disdain, distrust and carefully hidden anxiety. Hollam quite expected to be questioned at length but the Captain asked only three things.

‘Are you Ashathollam Allonas?’
‘I am,’ Hollam growled, annoyed at yet another presumptuous use of his name.
‘Your brother Kylian has no tongue and cannot speak?’
‘That is so.’
‘And you have come seeking the one you call Breeze?’
‘I have,’ Hollam replied, wondering at the man’s growing agitation.

The Captain turned away, clenching his fists and muttering, as if wrestling with himself. He held his back to Hollam for some time whilst Hollam eyed him from the floor and struggled to hold his peace.

At last the Captain called his officers to him and held a brief but heated discussion. The guards could scarcely face their captive as they helped him to his feet and tried to bind his hands.

Hollam began to react, struggling half-heartedly at first, demanding an explanation, but when one was not forthcoming he began to resist in earnest. It was not until they reminded him of Kylian’s fate that he succumbed, although not without some well placed insults and insinuations.

With hands tied behind his back, Hollam lurched across the scrubby land towards the pristine sands of the beach. Windbiter and Darting Fish were leading him towards the cliffs and he began to hope he would at last gain some explanation for his treatment and be reunited with Breeze. The fact that he was bound suddenly seemed immaterial as he thought of her welcoming arms and warm lips. He even tried chatting lightly to her compatriots, but they remained silent and grim. Hollam’s optimism began to fade.

Crossing the beach was no easy feat; the sand was soft and grabbed at his feet. After his long journey and mountain descent he was tired and sore to the point of collapse. If he stumbled his solemn companions would grab his arms and steady him, but never once did they consider freeing him from the constricting bonds.

Hollam could hear the swish of the sea. It reminded him of the horn of Camaldriss, which, to his fury, had been confiscated. The Captain promised to keep it safe and Hollam had no doubt that he would do so; the horns were rare and precious. Still, it rued him to be separated from his treasured possession.

The cloud cover broke and suddenly the red and blue moons shone down on the receding waters of the sea. Hollam was amazed to see how far away the gentle surf now lay, for the three foreboding fingers of rock were standing so close to the beach it now looked possible to wade across to them. As a land dweller Hollam found it astounding and he wondered how the sea-people could cope. If the trees in the forest kept moving life would have been extremely difficult. The Kalkassians went up a notch in his estimation.

They quickly went down again when he discovered he was being directed towards the pinnacles rather than the inhabited cliff face. Hollam’s guards paused to extinguish their lamps. The Wilderwood man’s stomach lurched with the notion this bore more relation to the desire to remain inconspicuous than to preserve fuel.

Fearing for his life Hollam suddenly let out a bellow of rage, hoping his voice would carry to the cliff dwellings and alert someone to his predicament. But his voice was snapped up by the wind and thrust out to sea almost as soon as it left his mouth. His sudden lunge to the side and attempt at fleeing likewise met with total failure, and he found himself face downwards in the wet sand with two panicking Kalkassians pinning him down.

‘Do not attempt such a thing again,’ Windbiter hissed. ‘Remember we have your brother.’
‘You have given me no reason to trust your word,’ Hollam replied, spitting out some sand.

Windbiter exchanged troubled looks with his companion. Hollam was bustled ahead with more urgency and in a comparatively short time they had waded through the salty water to the base of the central pinnacle. It stood towering above them, foreboding and stern. Nothing grew upon its face, no seaweed sprouted from the crevices and no crustaceans held fast to its sides. The rock was devoid of life and yet seemed alive, staring down at the three insignificant men with ominous intent.

Unexpectedly, Darting Fish dived beneath the surface and completely disappeared from view. Hollam was taken aback, even more so when instructed to follow him. He shook his head defiantly and attempted to look immovable. Windbiter simply heaved a sigh and swept Hollam’s legs from under him. The big man crashed into the sea, desperately trying to regain his footing as his head went under and dark water enveloped him. Kicking wildly, he found himself being dragged remorselessly downwards and just as he thought his lungs would burst he popped to the surface. Spluttering and cursing, he gulped in a lungful of rank air.

Darting Fish had lit a torch on one wall and once Hollam had regained some composure, he noticed they were now in a narrow chamber which stretched up higher than the inadequate light could reach. The walls were sheer and perfectly smooth, reflecting the orange flame like mirrors of jet. On all sides projected a shelf of rock no more than a foot above the water line. Opposite him was something very ominous. Hollam could not suppress a shudder as he caught sight of the manacles bolted firmly to the wall. He gaped at the grey eyed men in abject horror as he realised they were meant for him.